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Need Help Backlit SEG Silicone edge graphics printing

Ahmed Samy Nagada

New Member
Greetings to all,

I'm looking for a new printer to use for excellent quality backlit SEG silicone edge textiles like ones in Apple stores as well as EZ tube strtch fabric back drops. I can't decide best technology to use Direct disperse on textile, U.V or Sublimation.

Your help is very much appreciated.
 

Kaitlin Boisvert

New Member
Greetings to all,

I'm looking for a new printer to use for excellent quality backlit SEG silicone edge textiles like ones in Apple stores as well as EZ tube strtch fabric back drops. I can't decide best technology to use Direct disperse on textile, U.V or Sublimation.

Your help is very much appreciated.

I have a supplier that does backlit graphics with the silicone edges and they use a Mimaki JV5 Dye-Sublimation. The graphics are always so vibrant and I love the quality.
 

TrustMoore_TN

Sign & Graphics Business Consultant
Dye Sub instead of UV would be my recommendation first of all. The biggest question is whether you have the capital and the available room for the entire workflow. Direct Disperse Dye Sub like a Telios machine will save you time/footprint area because the output is already heat set instead of having to run it through a separate calender or heat press (rotary is my choice). The downside of that is that those machines are much much more expensive than a printer and heat press separately, and many of them are not designed for the heavier knit fabrics that are used for tension fabric displays. Many are designed to be "Flag Printers" because they run very light flag fabric through them. When I was looking at them last year we were looking at a much more expensive machine that could print/calender the heavier knit and stretch fabrics like you're talking about.

Unless you are doing very long runs, consistently, I can't see that an all in one machine makes sense. Just the amount of fabric it takes to web up a machine like that is significant. And if you're doing small projects, it may be best to print to paper then transfer it to fabric using a rotary heat press.

The other thing to consider is that you will need to add sewing capabilities to your workflow, along with space and labor to do it. Sewing this type of product isn't as simple as hiring someone that is good at sewing banners. For SEG only with square frames, it's not so bad but there is a definite learning curve. Sewing pillowcase graphics for stretching over tube frames is an entirely different animal. In either case, there are considerations like material stretch and fit and finish around curved areas. The table space needed is also significant.

Our setup was a 102" Dye Sublimation (Direct Disperse) printer that we would print, then sublimate using a 10-meter rotary calendared heat press. Once sublimated, we would trim it and sew the silicone edge to it on a 5' x 30' table. Many of the graphics we did were for huge backwall graphics that were 8' tall by 20-40 wide. We had a Juki industrial sewing machine and trimmed everything by hand with a heat knife.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly. Hopefully, this has been helpful.
 

NicMarKro

Maker of Weird Things
Having worked at several companies who produced Apple SEGs, they are pretty much all done on dyesub machines. That being said, if you aren’t doing a ton of fabric a UV printer may be a better bet/allow you more flexibility. I’ve done dozens of luxury retail brand rollouts of SEGs that were all done on a Vutek and they looked beautiful too.
 

Ahmed Samy Nagada

New Member
Thank you Kaitlin / BlueMoon / Nic for your time and valuable information.

I have bout a direct sublimation printer with an online fixation unit because the transfer method didn't give me color dense for backlit textiles, also it didn't give enough penetration on the other side for flag material.

First day was yesterday, flag material run out smooth and easy with about 75% or more penetration on the back side.

Backlit material had some problems that I need your experience to solve

1- There is allot of ghosting specially around dark areas (picture attached).

2- The colors looks dull, although when illuminated it looks brilliant.

3- I have a massive shrinkage rate in booth length and width of about 7%

Please note that I'm using Sensient Elvajet ink and fixing at 185 degree centigrade at a speed of about 12m per minute


Thank you all again for your time, help and support.
 

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